Oops! Missed Blogging Yesterday...

I do apologize.
Totally spaced and didn't blog at all yesterday!

This is why I didn't blog:

Wednesday nights, Troy and I alternate hosting supper with another couple we are friends with, Katie & Riley. It was on Thursday nights, but our schedules had to be shuffled around.
We've been doing this since September 2011. It's been working great! Of course, it's always a vegan dish! And it's always been delicious!

Okay, not totally true.
There was a lasagna that really didn't work out, so we got takeout from 13th Ave Coffee House. But everything else=amazing!
This week, it was Katie & Riley's turn to host. We had Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's Pasta Primavera with Fresh Veggies and Herbs, a salad(we do win friends with salad!), and a fruit salad. Super good!

Katie's Cupcake-style Cake

Katie was trying to make a cake for her boss's birthday, she had already tried twice. She makes these really cool, cupcake-style cakes using this cake pan that is poorly designed. Like the one she made for my 30th birthday!
The problem is that there are two 'cake' parts to the single pan, but they're different from each other in shape and size, so it doesn't bake evenly. One cake gets super cooked, and the other cake is liquid inside.
She also has to contend with an oven that doesn't work well.

I invited them back to our place to try baking the cake again, using our 3 year-old stove/oven. Plus we have a dishwasher, and they would have to do dishes again, by hand at home.
So Riley & Katie came over to bake the cake, while Troy went to his parents to fix the hood of our car(it broke in the cold!). We got it mostly baked out, and Troy came home with his brother, Tyler and his girlfriend, Andrea in tow. Then Troy's cousin, Jay came over too.

I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but people exhaust me. I also have a hard-time paying any attention(making me more tired) when I can hear another conversation, while trying to maintain the conversation I am in.
Wednesday night was exhausting for me.
Katie, Riley and I were baking in the kitchen and everyone else was in the dining room, visiting. It got really loud, and distracting. And exhausting.
Don't get me wrong. I had a good time, it was fun, and awesome hanging out with everyone, but I paid for it later.

***The cake didn't work again. <wah wah> Clearly, we need to alter the cake pan and make it awesome!***
Luckily, Troy is a machinist, and he works with metal and such all the time!

On Thursday, I didn't do anything. Nothing.
Friday, we got some fresh produce in the morning. In the afternoon, we tried cooking the couple of appetizers for another dinner date we have next week.
Andrea(another Andrea), is trying vegan for the month of January for a nutrition class she's taking. She has to write a paper(I think...?), and wanted to pick my brain over dinner.
Of course, I said yes, love talking vegan!

She can't eat soy or nuts, so I wanted an appy that she could eat. We are making Curried Chickpea Cakes from Skinny Bitch: Ultimate Everyday Cookbook: Crazy Delicious Recipes That Are Good to the Earth and Great for Your Bod by Kim Barnouin and Pineapple Mango Chutney from Color Me Vegan by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau.
OMG! Had these dishes last night(with steamed broccoli, snap peas and vegan garlic toast) and amazing.

Our Hen House

I have listened to each and every episode of Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's podcast, probably a dozen times.
I wanted more. Colleen has been busy this year! With Vegan's Daily Companion, Color Me Vegan, and The 30-Day Vegan Challenge, all released in the last year, she just hasn't had time to release many podcasts.
I started trying other vegan podcasts on iTunes. They were okay. Some really challenged my thinking, like, Animal Emancipation, hosted by Gary L. Francione. Some were video podcasts, which I didn't want. Audio only please. I finally asked on TheKindLife.com, and Our Hen House was recommended.
Boy Howdy! I am glad I asked other vegans what they listen to!

This podcast is hosted by Jasmin Singer and Maryann Sullivan.
Maryann is a lawyer and an adjunct professor of animal law at Brooklyn Law School and Cardozo Law School, and will soon be also teaching at Columbia Law School.
Jasmin was the campaigns manager for Farm Sanctuary, and — with Our Hen House — stayed on as a consultant through September 2010. She is a contributing writer for VegNews Magazine, a host for VegNews TV, and was also named by VegNews as one of twenty stand-out stars of the animal rights movement. She has also written for Satya Magazine and Heeb Magazine, and contributed to dozens of blogs.
Great podcast!
Each episode is about an hour long, sometimes a little longer, depending on the news, current events, and such. They interview inspiring vegans each week, talk about what's currently happening in the world of animal rights, and review products, books and movies!
Their website is full of inspiring content! Articles, videos, books, artwork! They've got it all! 
My understanding is that they're working on making Our Hen House into an online magazine! I think that will be rad! I am so excited to see what it'll be like!
They are completely listener and reader supported, which is ultra-cool!
Troy and I don't have cable, so we don't pay for TV, but I have zero problem with paying for content I actually want! So I do. Happily!
They have lots of tips on how to be an animal activist in creative, non-violent ways, from baking to visual art, and documentaries to literature! Our Hen House really makes their tagline their mission!
A Place To Find Our Way To Change The World For Animals.

This podcast helps me feel more connected to the vegan community. I know I've talked about the importance of community, but I will say it again. Community is important! Even if that community is online! We are social animals, so secluding yourself in a vegan bubble is not helping anybody!
Plus, Our Hen House has great thank-you gifts! Like the tote bag pictured here!(I have one!)

Vegetarian Food For Thought

I started to listen to Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's Vegetarian Food For Thought in the late fall of 2010. Not too long after my first official day of being vegan(September 12, 2010). I knew she had a podcast, and it got rave reviews! 

Just so we're clear: I had no idea what a podcast even was! 

I loved her writing in the The Joy of Vegan Baking and The Vegan Table, and I wanted compassionate responses to some common questions regarding veganism. The reason I waited so long to start listening, was because I couldn't just listen, I felt like I needed to be doing something else. I started to listen to the podcast on walks. 

Which was tricky to start. My balance was not stellar at that point, and even my walking was a bit clumsy. 

But, if I've learned anything from having a brain injury, it's that practice makes everything easier! I practiced just holding up my torso, and that's gotten much easier. I've practiced printing and math, and those have gotten better. I've practiced speaking, and that's almost 100% now(I still miss words, and forget how to pronounce them, or use the wrong word, but it's better! I swear!). 

So I listened to her podcast over and over, trying to memorize her words. That was also tricky because my brain still wasn't remembering. I had many lists and notes! It was rather ridiculous actually. Now, I'm able to recall much more! Not near the number of notes required for me to function!
She's taught me to be a joyful vegan. Truly. I don't know if I would've been so steadfast in my veganism without her leadership and encouragement! 

She has a masters in English, so she really gets our language, and talks about it a lot. The way violence towards non-human animals in our language perpetuates violence in action. She encourages everyone to think of compassionate alternatives to our usual violent non-human animal idioms. 

I've recently started using 'put all of my apples in a row', rather than ducks. She has lots of examples in Vegan's Daily Companion. I've started using 'non-human animals' when talking about other species. This way of talking throws people off a bit. I appreciate how it can get people thinking.

I also started using her, 'I can eat it, if I want it, but I don't' mentality. It's helped in many a situation, and again, encourages people to think that they do have choices, whether they know it or not!

Troy will listen to her podcast on drives out to the farm, or when we're driving anywhere out of the city. He really likes her stuff.
I subscribe to her free podcast on iTunes and even got her Vegetarian Food For Thought app for my iPhone!

I know she's been crazy busy this past year and a half, but I am itchy for more podcasts!

Don't get me wrong! I love and adore all of her books!  Her books taught me to bake and cook! That's huge! Teaching people how to nurture their bodies is vital! The Joy of Vegan Baking, The Vegan Table, Color Me Vegan, Vegan's Daily Companion and The 30-Day Vegan Challenge were all fantastic, the BEST, in fact! But it isn't quite the same as a soundbite.